Spike Lee: Kevin Garnett needs to ‘calm the f#%$ down’

If Kevin Garnett didn’t already have March 21 circled on his calendar, you can bet he will very soon.

Because that’s when the Celtics next visit the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, where director and noted Knicks fan Spike Lee will no doubt be sitting in the front row.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Spike Lee claimed Garnett cursed him out “for no reason” and suggested the All-Star Celtics forward should “calm the f#%$ down” …

“When I go to the games, it’s to have fun. I’m respectful. If I say a player missed a shot, that’s not talking about your mother, your family; it’s all good nature. The players enjoy talking to me and I enjoy talking to them.

“But this last time against Boston — you know that game where they disallowed [Amare] Stoudemire‘s 3? — Kevin Garnett lost it. He was cursing me out for no reason. Maybe because Stoudemire gave him 39 points, but take that vulgarity to Stoudemire. I’m not holding you, and I did not even say s#!@ to Garnett the whole game. That really surprised me. He lost it. He was cursing at me the whole game. He needs to calm the f#%$ down.”

And Lee didn’t stop there. Here’s the rest of his exchange with blogger Jared Zwerling:

JZ: “Well, you know what? It came back to bite him in the butt, because STAT [Stoudemire] is starting for the East in the All-Star Game, and KG is not.”

SL:“Next time they come is on March 21. So, look, I don’t like the Celtics, but I respect Doc [Rivers]. Doc’s a good friend. You know I love Ray Allen. I hate the Celtics, but look, they’ve got good guys on that team. I’ve got friends on that team. Nate [Robinson]’s on the team. But Garnett needs to calm the f#%$ down. There’s no reason he should be cursing at me the way he did the last game. So you can put that in the article. It was disrespectful and I would never do nothing like that to him.”

JZ: “That’s crazy. Garnett has definitely had his share of temper tantrums — no question about that.”

SL:“I’m not even playing, and I didn’t say nothing to him the whole game anyway. So, if you’re mad, start cursing out STAT, Stoudemire. But you’re not going to do that s#!@ because Stoudemire’s not going to take it. So he cursed at me and I’m 5-foot-6 ½, 150 pounds. What he was saying was worse than Reggie Miller. It was uncalled for.”

JZ: “We’ll all be ready for that next game.”

SL:“I’m going to get him that time.”

So, to summarize Lee’s conversation: 1) he sat angelically on the sideline as Garnett unleashed an unprovoked verbal assault on him; 2) there’s no reason to use vulgarity, but Garnett should calm the f#%$ down; and 3) Garnett should turn his trash talk to Stoudemire, but Lee’s going to “get him” next time. Gotcha, Spike. Appreciate the unbiased analysis.

Now that Miller is retired — and about to be eclipsed by Ray Allen for the NBA’s all-time 3-point record — Lee needs a new feud to stay relevant. Because recent movies like “She Hate Me” and “Bamboozled” aren’t doing the job.